Chapter 617: Gao Clan’s Decision
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Gao Hanshan no longer cared about his status as a martial arts grandmaster. He dove into the sea of lava impatiently but he could not find any trace of Mo Wen at all. Mo Wen had completely disappeared.
“That rascal…how did he do it!” Gao Hanshan’s expression was dark as he floated in mid-air. His face turned alternating shades of green and white and he looked very awkward.
After all, earlier on he had been certain that Mo Wen would not be able to escape. Yet, Mo Wen had been able to flee from right under his nose. He was not even certain of what had happened.
The Gao Clan elders searched the surrounding areas but could see no sign of Mo Wen at all. They shook their heads and sighed. Where could the lad have gone? The
They were all top powerhouses in the martial arts world. They even had a martial arts grandmaster with them. However, the youngster had been able to easily escape.
“Grandfather, where is Mo Wen?” Jun Wulei asked. He had just flown out of the sea of lava to discover his grandfather and the other elderly men diving into it. He did not understand what was happening but also immediately re-entered the sea of lava, swimming to Gao Hanshan’s side. Jun Wulei would never have imagined that Mo Wen would have been able to simply disappear and escape from the clutches of Gao Clan
He was not sure how powerful Mo Wen was but had Gong Biluo had suggested that Mo Wen was unique in some way. He was certainly very mysterious.
“It’s none of your business.” Gao Hanshan turned and slapped him forcefully, causing Jun Wulei to fly into the air. His body moved as fast as a cannonball, disappearing from everyone’s view in the blink of an eye. This was the third time that the pitiful Jun Wulei had been slapped and thrown into the air by his grandfather in less than two hours.
The Gao Clan elders badly wanted to laugh. They could all tell that Gao Hanshan was venting his anger on Jun Wulei. However, they did not dare to laugh out loud. Gao Hanshan was a martial arts grandmaster and their clan leader. The other realized that he must be feeling extremely embarra.s.sed.
After another thorough search, they still could not find any traces of Mo Wen. Gao Hanshan flew out of the magma ocean with a stoic expression. He looked to be in a bad mood, and the target of his bad mood was his grandson.
“That lad Xiangchen is too much. He actually hid such an important matter from us.”
“That’s right, we have to teach him a lesson when we get back.”
Flying above the lava. Jun Wulei couldn’t help but laugh when he heard what they were saying. He was already unlucky enough. Now that Mo Wen had fled, the old men would definitely vent their anger on him.
“You, come here.” Gao Hanshan waved at Jun Wulei with a grave expression.
Jun Wulei swallowed and walked over cautiously. He was afraid he would be struck once again if he angered his grandfather further.
“Tell me everything about Mo Wen, in as much detail as you can,” Gao Hanshan said lightly.
“I really don’t know much about him.” Jun Wulei felt helpless and told his grandfather everything that he could remember about Mo Wen. However, he did not know much and so his report was quick.
“That wench Gong knows his ident.i.ty as well and they have a complex relations.h.i.+p?” Gao Hanshan asked.
“Yes. There’s something very strange about their relations.h.i.+p.” Jun Wulei nodded. He could tell the relations.h.i.+p between Mo Wen and Gong Biluo was not merely that of an ordinary boyfriend and girlfriend.
“I had wanted to get you and that wench Gong together. It’s a pity that you’re a disappointment.” Gao Hanshan was now even angrier. Gao Clan had enjoyed a long working relations.h.i.+p with Gong Clan. Before the incident that had struck Gong Clan, the leaders of the two clans had wanted to matchmake Jun Wulei and Gong Biluo. It was a pity that the incidents that followed had taken everyone by surprise.
After the incident, the Gao Clan had intentionally kept Gong Biluo at home to protect her. The girl would not agree to the match and the matter just ended like that.
Jun Wulei smiled bitterly. He didn’t know what to see in reply. How can a person force themselves to feel a certain way? The truth was that Gong Biluo had never liked him.
“This Mo Wen is a complicated character.” Gao Hanshan put his hands behind his back, looking at the endless sea of lava. No one knew what he was thinking. At first, he had only wanted to test Mo Wen’s ability. However, he had not expected that the youth’s ability would be so far beyond his expectations. In the end, Mo Wen’s powers had left him completely stunned.
The youth had such high attainment of absolute skills. What level was that? As a martial arts grandmaster, Gao Hanshan could only take a vague guess.
After all, he was a martial arts grandmaster and was at the pinnacle amongst warriors. If he progressed further, he would be in a completely different league to other pract.i.tioners.
Even though the chances of becoming an immortal was very low for martial arts grandmaster, they knew what would happen if they managed it. It was rumored that only warriors who successfully became immortal would be able to come into contact with the rite and pa.s.sage of martial arts that allowed them to sue absolute skills.
Yet, Mo Wen had used absolute skills against him. Could Mo Wen have already become immortal? Gao Hanshan was deeply shocked. His mood rose and fell like the waves in the sea. He was terrified by the mere thought of Mo Wen’s brilliance. A youth like that would be incredible when he was fully grown and developed.
Even though Gao Hanshan had a million thoughts running through his mind, his status as a martial arts grandmaster meant that his internal cultivation was different to other, People looking at him would believe he was entirely calm.
“Big brother, about Mo Wen,” the old man in a grey robe asked gravely. This matter was extremely important to Gao Clan. How they treated the inheritor of the Ming Cult who had suddenly appeared would affect all future decisions of Gao Clan.
“For a few hundred years, our Gao Clan has always hoped for the revival of the Ming Cult. I thought that there was not much hope at first, but now, I think the hope has finally arrived.” Gao Hanshan sighed deeply, his eyes glowing like never before.
“But, the Anti-Ming faction is too powerful and they have had the upper hand for the past hundreds of years. Even if Mo Wen is indeed the rare genius that he appears to be, the power of one is limited. If we are not careful, Gao Clan could suffer heavy losses, just as Gong Clan did.” The elder of Gao Clan fell silent when he spoke about Gong Clan. His expression was very grave.
Everyone knew that Gong Clan’s fall had something to do with the Anti-Ming faction. Gong Clan was very powerful then, and a few warrior sects from the main s.p.a.ce would naturally not be able to destroy them. The Anti-Ming Faction had been pulling strings behind the scenes.
The Ming Preservation Faction had fought against the Anti-Ming Faction for several hundred years. Gong Clan’s fall was the greatest loss the Ming Preservation Faction had experienced in history.
The Anti-Ming Faction had not specifically targeted Gao Clan in that mission. If they had, then Gao Clan would probably not be able to escape from death. In the past few years, the Anti-Ming Faction had grown stronger while the Ming Preservation Faction had grown weaker. The difference between the two was growing wider.
Gao Clan claimed to be the strongest power behind the Ming Preservation Faction. The Anti-Ming Faction was much more powerful however and so Gao Clan would never be able to be considered powerful enough to be in the top three of that faction.
“Elder Gao Zhi, if we do not act it will be as if we are merely waiting for death. Even if we do not come out to fight, the Anti-Ming Faction will not let us off. If not for the serious internal fight among the Anti-Ming Faction, I fear that the fight would have long reached Gao Clan.”
Gao Hanshan sighed. As clan leader, he was even more aware of the state of the clan. Ever since the fall of Gong Clan, the pressure on Gao Clan had become much more intense than ever before. Gao Hanshan knew that if things continued, Gao Clan would follow in the footsteps of Gong Clan. They were not been over-cautious; the danger was there and it would approach sooner or later.
“Indeed, Gao Clan is known to be the strongest power behind the Ming Preservation Faction. They would first come after us should anything happen.” Elder Gao Zhi sighed. The Gao Clan looked to be doing very well, but it had always been enshrouded in darkness.
Gao Hanshan waved his hand and stopped the third elder who wanted to speak. His expression was determined. “Mo Wen has potential that you cannot imagine. He might be our hope, the hope of the entire Ming Preservation Faction. I agree with you regarding this point. You all do not have to say anything else. I have already come to a decision.”
“Elders, receive your orders,” Gao Hanshan said lightly.
The Gao elders’ expressions grew grave. They placed their right hands on their chest and knelt on one knee. Jun Wulei hurried to kneel as well.
Gao Hanshan gave his orders as the clan leader. “From now on, remain silent on the matter regarding Mo Wen. You can’t tell anyone about it, not even those closest to you. If necessary, you will be punished according to the clan laws.”
Gao Hanshan did not want too many people to know about Mo Wen. If the Anti-Ming Faction found out about his ident.i.ty before Mo Wen was truly grown, then the consequences would be disastrous.
Mo Wen emerged silently from a crack between some rocks several thousand meters below the sea of lava. It had been more than an hour since Gao Clan had left. All was silent; there was no one around.
After disengaging the Invisible talisman, Mo Wen swam silently to the deeper part of the sea, instead of flying above it. He was afraid that Gao Clan would be waiting in the air above for him to emerge.
Mo Wen was feeling apprehension and worried about Gao Clan. It did not matter what Gao Clan’s opinion of him was, he was unwilling to work with them at this moment in time. He was not powerful enough and there would be times where he had to compromise. Mo Wen did not like it when situations that he could not control appeared.
After swimming for several hundred meters, Mo Wen emerged from the sea of lava. He had battled two martial arts grandmaster consecutively and had soaked in the sea of lava for two hours. His inner Qi was about 80 percent depleted. He had to find a place where he could recharge it.
After a day in this region, Mo Wen was still surrounded by the seemingly endless sea of lava. He did not know how big the fire domain was, but it had at least a radius of a thousand miles.
Mo Wen sat cross-legged on an island above the sea of lava. After being on the island for a day, his inner Qi had been recharged to peak status.
There were corpses of monstrous beasts laid in front of him. There were enormous crocodiles, scorpions the size of buckets, venomous snakes. The fire domain was not a peaceful or gentle place and had many monstrous beasts. In fact, these beasts, who lived in groups, were all above the fifth rank and were all very powerful, They lived in the sea of magma and had fire attribute powers.